Seeing Red not Green

On Friday we decided to go and see the famous 'weeping window' at Hereford Cathedral. Browsing online I discovered the chapel at Rotherwas on the fringe of Hereford, so we decided to experience a double dose of culture. We programmed the sat nav and set off.

Half a mile away I remembered the text from the window cleaner, which necessitated a quick return trip to base before we set off again.

In order to gain access to the chapel we needed to collect the key from Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre - aka HARC (now avoid singing a certain Christmas Carol...) The website described a pleasant wander down a green lane. It sounded idyllic, perfect for a warm spring day.

The receptionist at HARC gave us the key, before informing us that we would need to walk down the main road, as they 'Green Path' was currently part of a building site.

She was right.

Following the map the receptionist had given to us, we managed to find our way past a couple of roundabouts and up a farm track to the church. 

The rapeseed was just coming into flower. In a week or so it will look absolutely stunning. As it was it still looked pretty good.  

The contrast between the noisy building site adjacent to a main road, and the solitude of this small hamlet, just a quarter of a mile away, was immense.


I unlocked the door of the church and we entered in. The downstairs is mainly empty with just a few camping chairs set out in anticipation of an event the following weekend.

I climbed the stairs to the gallery. 


Immediately a large black bird launched itself from one of the rafters into the tower. 
We ducked.

Jesus watched our feeble attempts to encourage the bird to leave. 
We didn't want the poor thing to be trapped there, unable to escape. 

Finally, we persuaded it to depart through a side door. 
Mind you it probably returned via some opening, once the interfering visitors had departed... 
Looking at the stains, that particular beam seems to be a regular perching spot for birds of a feathered kind.

Having returned the key, we stopped off at a cafe for sustenance. The KHT was a bit put out when made to choose between a scotch egg or a three-egg omelette, as she would have preferred to have had both...

Hereford was buzzing. The road from Ross was at a standstill, so the satnav took us via a few detours to our car park of choice.

When we reached the cathedral, the close was a hive of activity, where trails of ice-cream wielding students on educational visits, intersected with suitcase towing tourists, all admiring the spectacle of the Weeping Window. 

Was I the only one who looked up and wondered if Rapunzel had had red hair? 

Having not got to London for the poppy exhibition at the tower, I was really glad that I had been able to see this exhibition, but I do wish I had been able to visit a couple of weeks ago when the poppies were covered with snow shortly after they were installed. The bright sunshine and throngs of tourists did not give the atmosphere of solemnity the installation deserved.

Inside the cathedral was also busy, as visitors explored. It felt that, for just a short time, that the building had been reclaimed by the people.





After a quick wander around Hereford, we returned for refreshments in the sunny gardens of the cathedral.

A day perfect in unexpected ways.